OXNARD : Port of Hueneme to Seek Special Status

The Oxnard Harbor District voted unanimously Monday to submit its application for U. S. foreign trade zone status, a move harbor officials hope will attract businesses to the Port of Hueneme.

Establishing the harbor district as a foreign trade zone would enable foreign companies that ship into the district to defer taxes during the time their products are within the zone.

“Our expansion program up to this date has focused on” development on port property, said Anthony Taormina, executive director of the Harbor District. “We’re now turning and looking inward to support international trade with landside services.”

Taormina said that the board’s vote will set in motion a nine-month federal review, and that he expects approval of the zone.

“Every port of entry is entitled to one foreign trade zone,” Taormina said. The only other Southern California port with foreign trade zone status is the Port of Long Beach.

The Port of Hueneme received port of entry status in 1992. The status allows shippers to go through customs at the port.

If the port receives the status, Taormina said three sites, one at the seaport, one on the U. S. Naval Construction Battalion Center and one in downtown Oxnard will immediately benefit.

Taormina said the zone could include businesses in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and most of southern Ventura County, all within the district’s boundaries and dealing in foreign trade.

“Companies like Mazda, Wallenius (Lines) and BMW utilize foreign trade zones in other parts of the United States,” Taormina said, referring to three auto companies that now use the port. “This status will help us retain their business” and allow officials from the harbor and surrounding cities to use the duty-free status to attract new businesses.

Submitting the application will cost the district $70,000, Taormina said, which the district will recoup by charging companies $7,000 each to be part of the zone.

“If I can attract one business as a result of the zone, it’s going to be a benefit,” Taormina said.